Making historical discoveries in a yard is one thing when the item is a non living thing but imagine the surprise of this farmer in Chengdu China who found an antique and extremely rare spider. He thought he had discovered an ancient seal because the spider was stationary but when it moved he realized what it was. Scientists are shocked at the discovery Li Wenhua made while digging up his yard. He didn’t exactly expect an ancient relic to start moving.
After he had discovered the ancient rare spider, he showed it to his neighbors who did some research on the internet. They soon realized that what they had actually found was one of the rarest spiders known to man, an Hourglass spider.
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The hourglass spider dates back to 500 BCE and also features China’s oldest Dictionary “the Er Ya”. Hourglass spiders are recluse spiders that prefer living underground. Till date only six hourglass spiders have been sighted in China since their discovery in 2000.
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Zhao Li, head of the Insect Museum in China confirmed the rarity by saying the spider was also very valuable. He said “The spider has very high value in scientific research. It is an extremely rare species in Sichuan, I had spent great effort trying to find it, but I didn’t see one.”
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Zhao said that the hourglass spiders are more commonly found in caves of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces where the climate was warmer. Scientists will now have to rethink their biology as this particular spider was found in a cooler climate.
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Hourglass Spiders can sell for anything upto $1840. They make good pets because of their mild tempered and shy nature. Li decided to keep the spider he found till there was a potential buyer. He hopes he can find it a good home.
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